FORMULA 1: RICCIARDO DEJECTED, HAMILTON ELATED – MONACO GP

OK-Choke! Delivering when it matters most is a significant feature of the thread which comprises the fabric worn by extraordinary characters. Your ability to remain calm, focused and even more brutal when trapped in conditions mirrored by a Category 5 hurricane will enhance your ascent to superstar status, if, when the final play is spent, you ensured victory!

Like a famished panther, Lewis Hamilton was on the prowl in Monaco. The bruh-ha-ha with his ‘friend-enemy’ Rosberg was forgotten and the two remaining boxes, to be ticked, on his Monaco Itinerary read – Qualifying-P1 and Raceday-Victory. His intent was not conveyed to his machine, however. During qualifying the gremlins soared and his qualifying fortunes, like a submarine in peril, plummeted rapidly!

ROSBERG

Rosberg went one better, but Red Bull and F1 resumed their wild, passionate fling which began in Spain. In Spain, Verstappen, like Neo, was the 1. But, in Monaco, the sun shone on Ricciardo – P1!

If F1 aficionados were consulted, they would have been happy to report that if qualifying was important at only one track in F1, that track would be Monaco.

Passing during the race is a concept only maintained by individuals who are tagged with two d-beginning words – daring and delusional!

And if the odds were not already stacked in favor of the defending champion’s opponents, on race-day, crystal punch fled from the sky and sought refuge in Monaco. The safety car guided the machines to a controlled start and like a rebel with a purpose, Ricciardo distanced himself from his peers. Ricciardo sought glory on the streets of Monaco, at all times streaking away from the discombobulated Mercedes pair.

RICCIARDO

It was an illusion though. Rosberg’s machine checked into the gremlin ward – brake issues – which led to him being slower than Hamilton and enabling Ricciardo’s lead. The team intervened, forced Rosberg’s hand and Hamilton the hound was released. His pace improved immediately and the gap, like Miss Kitty, lost weight!

The rapidly changing conditions and virtual safety car interventions gave birth to multiple strategies. Red Bull brought their lead driver in twice. Hamilton pampered his tyres and was brought in once. Ricciardo, locked in his vanishing-act-attempt at the front, was connecting the dots, avoiding the armco and etching slowly, his name on the Monaco winners list. But, that was before the second pit stop.

During the second pit-stop, the human element invaded the Red Bull war room. Confusion saw Ricciardo’s machine sitting nude momentarily – no tyres! When sanity returned and the machine left the pit-box, Hamilton was aboard the Kentucky Derby winner! There was nothing Ricciardo could do. As Ricciardo exited, the Silver Arrow machine was just that, an arrow piercing the Red Bull, rendering it defeated!

Ricciardo tried, valiantly, but Hamilton positioned his machine inch-perfect to extinguish the flames exiting the nostrils of the snorting Bull! The faces on the podium told the tale.

Ricciardo known for his mile-wide smile, wore a desolate face. Hamilton’s relief was tangible, jubilation was rampant. He adorned the hat of philanthropy, allowing Justin Bieber to grab a swig of Monaco’s finest champagne before drowning his team with the costly liquid. With his first win for 2016, should we anticipate a Hamilton streak?

Should we keep an eye on Perez who avoided the radar and crept unnoticed to P3?

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer